The infamous prison is 10 miles west of Belfast and held paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles, including Bobby Sands and a further nine who died during hunger strikes in the 1980s. The prison closed in 2000 with demolition of swathes — but not all — of the site taking place from 2006.  In 2013, Libeskind and Belfast practice McAdam Design were given planning permission for a peace centre at the 150ha site. The proposal had included plans to convert the former H6 prison block, prison hospital, emergency control building and chapel.  The plans were originally backed by both parties in the Northern Irish government: the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin. The proposals had been developed by an arms-length body, the Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation. Advertisement But the plans were stalled by the DUP’s Peter Robinson, who served as first minister between 2008 and 2016, amid concerns that the centre – and, in particular, the parts of the old prison – could become a ‘shrine to terrorism’. No agreement has since been reached on the scheme and the EU has since withdrawn its offer of £18 million in grant funding.  Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland’s The View programme, Libeskind said these concerns were ‘absurd’, adding that his proposal was ‘the opposite of [a shrine to terrorism]’.  He said: ‘That site, which is so charged with history, deserves to be addressed and let people come and have a common ground in which to discuss, learn from each other, discover what the past was and how to make a better future.  ‘We cannot continue living with the violence and the ghosts of the past. We have to move forward. I’m surprised, personally, that Belfast cannot come together; that the conflict is still there in the political levels, which should certainly see that the world is changing around us.’ When asked whether he understood the concerns some people had over the scheme, Libeskind said: ‘I do understand. I had those sensitivities at Ground Zero when I won the competition to be the master architect. Advertisement ‘Some people said let’s not build anything for 50 years here, because we are so sensitive we have all kinds of emotions, we don’t know how it will play out. But the very act of rebuilding Ground Zero brought people together.’  McAdam Design and the Northern Irish government were contacted for comment.